Courage and The Circle of Children
by owlwatcher-974
Summary: Could the mysterious necklace that Courage finds burried in his yard have any connection to the ghostly children that have been haunting the people of Nowhere?
1. The Mysteriouse Necklace

It was a beautiful, peaceful night in the middle of Nowhere. Not a single cloud to disturb the starry sky. The pink dog, Courage, stared through the attic window at the silent sky sighing deeply as he admired the sparkling stars. Finally, he decided to go outside to get a better look. Normally he would never think of going outside on his own at night because of some of the scary things he had been though - especially while his owners, Muriel and Eustace Bagg, were asleep. But tonight it was different. It was so beautiful with all the stars shining against the dark backdrop of the moonless sky. Surely nothing bad could happen on a night like this.  
  
Courage made his way downstairs trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb Muriel and Eustace. A careful step here, a startling creak from the floor there another careful step until he was at the door. He stopped for a moment to make sure that neither of his owners had woken up before silently slipping outside into the warm summer night.  
  
Once outside, Courage took a deep breath drinking in the fresh air. It was even more beautiful out here than it looked from the window. The stars shimmered brightly as a gentle breeze blew over Courages pink fur. "Ahh", he sighed. It was so peaceful out here. The stars shone so brightly that the whole landscape was clearly visible as if the full moon itself was shining.  
  
After staring at the stars for a long while, Courage began sniffing around the barren ground searching for a bone he had burried out here. If only he could remember where he had burried it! This was the perfect time and place for a midnight snack. He continued to sniff around the back of the house and then further out until he noticed something strange on the ground. It looked as if somebody had been digging out here. Courage sat down and stared at the ground with a puzzled look on his face. He hadn't noticed Muriel digging out here and all Eustace ever seemed to work on was his truck.  
  
After thinking about it for a moment, Courage began digging to see if there was something burried here. Maybe he had even burried a bone here and forgotten about it.  
  
Courage dug and dug until his paws hit something in the soil. Carefully, he used his nose to nudge away the soil until a heavy thick silver necklace appeared. Courage looked at it for a few seconds before reaching into the hole to drag the necklace from its hiding place. Attached to the neckace was a large, heavy black pendant with a picture etched into it of what appeared to be some sort of building surrounded by an iron fence - sort of like something one would see in a cemetary. Surrounding the picture were several strange symbols and on the back of the pendant was something that appeared to be some kind of verse written in a strange language.  
  
Even with the bright starlight Courage could not really see the picture and the writing clearly so he decided to take the necklace into the house to get a better look. Up in his attic room Courage sat down on the cot that he sometimes slept on and held the pendant close to the lamp. He stared closely at the pendant for several minutes gazing into the picture on the front of it. For some reason the picture made him feel very uneasy and the symbols surrounding the picture only added to this feeling. Finally, he turned the pendant over to get a look at the back. The writing was like nothing he had ever seen before. The letters looked really old somehow - as if written in some ancient language.  
  
Courage swallowed the lump of fear in his throat and said to himself, "I have a bad feeling about this." At that moment he heard Muriel coming up the stairs to the attic.  
  
"Courage, are you still awake at this hour?" A voice with a scottish accent exclaimed. "Ye need to get some sleep Courage. We have a lot to do tomorrow."  
  
Courage quickly hid the necklace under the pillow of his cot and went to join Muriel. Together they went back to the bedroom and Courage jumped up on bed and curled up at his favorite place by Muriel and Eustace's feet. He closed his eyes but the butterflies in his stomach made it difficult to sleep. There was something about that necklace that really worried him.  
  
The next morning, as Muriel and Eustace made their way downstairs, Courage went up to the attic to look at the necklace again. He found himself staring deeply into the picture on the front of the pendant trying to figure out exactly what it was. Then it came to him - the picture was a tomb!! He whined softly in fear but continued to stare at the pendant as the picture began to change slightly and then the image of what appeared to be a child emerged from the tomb. Courage let out a loud, "AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!" and dropped the necklace.  
  
He stood there shaking for a moment before slowly picking up the pendant and looking at the front of it wondering if he had seen what he thought he saw. The image of the tomb was normal as if nothing had happened. Couraged gulped hard to swallow the lump in his throat and put the necklace back under the pillow before leaving the room.  
  
Muriel met him on the stairs. "Where have you been Courage? I've been calling you. Breakfast is ready." 


	2. A Trip To Nowhere

Even the delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes with whipped cream didn't make Courage feel much better. He was having a difficult time making himself eat even though Muriel made the best blueberry pancakes ever.  
  
Muriel noticed that Courage was picking at his food. "Courage, is something wrong? You've barely touched your breakfast. Are you feeling well?"  
  
Courage looked up at Muriel and managed a weak smile. The warmth in Muriel's voice was so comforting that he felt a little better and managed to eat another bite or two of his pancakes.  
  
Muriel looked over at Eustace, who never seemed to be able to pass up a good meal, and said, "Eustace, I'm worried about Courage. He usually loves blueberry pancakes but he has barely touched his food."  
  
Eustace glanced over at Courage's plate. "Stupid dog." He growled, "If ya ain't gonna finish food then let me have it."  
  
Courage cowered at the sound of Eustace's voice but held tightly onto his plate. It wasn't that he was hungry, but he didn't want Eustace to have his food. He would rather throw it away than give it to Eustace. Muriel glared at Eustace but didn't say anything. Instead she reached down and gently took Courage's plate. "I'll put this in the refrigerator so ye can have it later when you're hungry Courage."  
  
Courage looked up at her and managed another weak smile. Muriel was always so kind to him. He would do anything for Muriel.  
  
Eustace mumbled something under his breath and got up to leave the table. "I'm gonna read me paper before we leave."  
  
Muriel began to clear the table and wash the dishes. Looking over at Courage, who was staring down at the table as though he was thinking about something, she said, "Don't forget we have to go to town today Courage."  
  
How could Courage forget? Going to town always meant work when they got back. Usually it was helping Muriel put groceries away but this time Eustace was going to get the supplies to fix the barn which had been damaged a few days ago when one of the windmill blades had mysteriously broken off and fell through the roof. Eustace had already fixed the windmill which they depended upon for electricity, but there were no boards or shingles to fix the roof of the barn.  
  
On the way into town Eustace was distracted by the thought of going into the hardware store and Muriel was planning dinner so Courage was able to sleep most of the trip. As soon as they got into town, Eustace parked the truck and everybody went their seperate ways. Courage decided to take a walk through town to look around a bit. By the time everybody met back at the truck Courage was feeling better - - that is until Muriel began telling about what she had heard in the store.  
  
"Some of the townspeople were talking about some strange things that have been going on for the last two days. One lady said she heard children running through her yard but when she looked there was nobody out there. Another lady said that she was walking her dog by the cemetary and she saw a strange fog and heard childrens voices."  
  
Eustace grumbled something under his breath.  
  
Just then a gust of wind blew nearly lifting the sheet of plywood out of Eustace's hands. "Oh my!" Muriel exclaimed as she quickly places the rest of the groceries into the truck. "I wonder where that wind came from."  
  
Courage just sat there shivering. He could have sworn he heard a child's laughter in the wind. But neither Eustace or Muriel seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.  
  
On the way back to the farm, Muriel continued with her story. "Some people seem to think it has something to do with those children that .... "  
  
She was cut off when Eustace had to swerve violently to avoid hitting something in the road. "Stupid rabbits!" Eustace yelled out the window as he swerved back onto the road.  
  
Courage just sat there frozen. Whatever it was in the road was no rabbit ... it looked almost like a little girls doll. But when he looked back at the road behind them, the road was empty. Whatever it was had disappeared.  
  
Courage whined and huddled close to Muriel.  
  
"Courage?" Muriel looked down at the frightened dog and gently put her arm around him to comfort him. "Are ye okay Courage?"  
  
Courage just shivered and huddled close to Muriel for the rest of the drive home. 


	3. A Child's Laughter

Back at the farm, Eustace began his work on the barn while Muriel put the groceries away and began to clean up the house. Courage stayed as close to Muriel as he could even though he was getting in the way most of the time. Finally, after nearly tripping over Courage for the tenth time, Muriel stopped and said, "Courage, it's a beautiful sunny day outside. Why don't you go out and play for a while."  
  
Courage looked up at her. He knew that her question was actually an order so he slinked out the door and found a sunny place on the porch to lie down.  
  
It really was a beautiful day. The bright sunshine somehow seemed to wash his fear away as it gently warmed his fur. Courage found himself drifting off into a peaceful nap. A loud noise startled Courage awake. He sat up and looked around but the afternoon was quiet except for the occasional hammering sounds coming from the barn.  
  
Courage decided to go look for the bone he had been searching for last night. A gentle breeze was now blowing and it felt good as it ruffled Courage's soft fur. He wandered around a bit venturing further and further away from the house when he heard what sounded like a child laughing. Courage stopped in his tracks and looked around him but there was nobody. Just sand, the empty road up ahead of him, and the farm back behind him.  
  
"I must be hearing things." Courage said to himself and returned to his search. He had been sniffing around for about 10 minutes when he heard it again. This time it was unmistakable. It was definately the sound of a child laughing but it sounded almost sinister. Courage froze for a moment before running back to the house as fast as his legs could carry him. He burst through the door and ran right into Muriel.  
  
He tried to tell Muriel what had happened but to Muriel it sounded like gibberish. Muriel smiled at him. "I see somebody is ready for lunch. Go get Eustace and I'll have lunch on the table in a jiffy."  
  
Courage sighed feeling totally defeated. There was no way he could make Muriel understand what had just happened. He turned and headed outside to the barn to get Eustace.  
  
After lunch, Courage decided to try and find out a little bit more about the necklace and the strange writings on the pendant. Back up in his attic room, he scanned the pendant and fed the image into his computer. After a minute or two a sarcastic voice came from the machine. "You really do find the strangest things don't you? Well, I cannot find anything about the writings or symbols on this thing. But it looks like it could be some sort of invocation or spell. You should go to somebody who would know about things like that."  
  
Courage looked down at the pendant and thought about what Muriel had said when they were in town earlier. A chill ran down his spine as an idea began to take form in his head. He took a deep breath and typed a few words into the computer. A few minutes later the voice answered him, "I can only find one reference to ghosts of children haunting the town. It's a piece of a paragraph from a newspaper story from 50 years ago. It reads, 'The strange sightings of children playing in the streets late at night and the vandalism that has been occuring throughout town are thought to be somehow connected. Police have had several calls from residents to report children playing very loudly on the streets late at night Most of these people say that they didn't see the children but only heard them. But some have reported actually seeing the children. Those who report seeing the children describe the children as looking very pale and being dressed in clothes that appear to be from a hundred years ago. ' The article becomes unreadable from that point on."  
  
Frustrated, Courage typed in another question. The voice answered back, "By unreadable I mean blurred. You see, 50 years ago they did not have computers like they do today. Most things like newspapers were stored on microfilm to save space. But the microfilm that this particular newspaper was stored on is blurred for some reason. Much of it is unreadable."  
  
Courage shut the computer off and turned to leave the room when he heard the sound of laughter again. This time it sounded like it was coming from directly outside his window. Courage took a deep breath and slowly approached the window only to find what he had expected - - there was nobody out there. Courage was beginning to feel like a nervous wreck. He had spent several hours with the computer but still hadn't found anything out about the strange pendant. It would be dark soon and Courage wasn't looking forward to the night. 


	4. The Circle of Children

Courage left the attic and went downstairs just as Muriel was getting ready call him for supper. At first, Courage didn't think he would be able to eat a single bite but the stew that Muriel had made quickly changed his mind. He had only eaten very little of his breakfast and a bite or two of his lunch so by now he was very hungry. Muriel watched happily as Courage cleaned his plate and begged eagerly for a bowl of the Happy Plums she had made for dessert.  
  
Muriel's Happy Plums were a secret recipe handed down through her family for generations. It was well known that Happy Plums could make even the most depressed person happy. After eating his bowl of Happy Plums, Courage began to feel much better. For the time being all of his worries about the pendant, the ghostly child's laughter, and the strange stories Muriel had heard in town were completely forgotten.  
  
After dinner he joined Muriel and Eustace in the living room. Courage was resting contentedly on Muriel's lap while she was watching a show on TV and Eustace was sitting in his favorite chair reading his paper. Courage yawned and slowly fell asleep. He was awakened by Muriel's voice. "Eustace, did you hear that?!"  
  
Eustace's quickly awoke from his nap and was so startled by Muriel's voice that his newspaper fell from where it had been resting covering his face. "What are you talking about woman?!", he snapped as he reached down to pick up the newspaper.  
  
"The man on the news! He just said that the police had been called out to investigate several reports of children running around the cemetary. But when the police got there, they couldn't find anything!" Eustace glanced up at Muriel with an impatient look on his face, "So, the children left before the police got there."  
  
"That's not the half of it!", Muriel continued in an excited voice. "They couldn't find footprints or anything even though several people said they saw the children. But that's not the strangest part of the story. When the police were getting ready to leave, they heard the sound of a child laughing from somewhere inside the cemetary."  
  
Eustace scowled. "Then there were children playing there and one of them was still hiding in the cemetary. What's so strange about that?"  
  
"But, Eustace, they checked everywhere in that cemetary. There was nobody in the cemetary. They would have seen anybody leaving because the two gates are the only ways to get in or out of the cemetary and there were police at both of the gates!"  
  
Courage looked up at Muriel. Suddenly all the worries came flooding back to him and he felt himself shivering.  
  
Muriel put her arms around Courage to comfort him. "Don't worry Courage, those children won't come all the way out here to bother us."  
  
Eustace shook his head as he folded up his newspaper. Even though he had seen some strange things out here, he still had a difficult time believing that there was anything unusual about children playing around and hiding from police.  
  
"Muriel, are there any of those Happy Plums left?"  
  
Muriel gently pushed Courage off of her lap and stood up to go into the kitchen. "I made enough so we could all have two bowls if we wanted."  
  
Courage followed Muriel into the kitchen. Somehow a bowl of Happy Plums seemed like just what he needed right now.  
  
Courage licked his bowl clean and took it over to Muriel who was standing at the sink finishing the dishes. "Thankyou Courage." She reached down and patted Courage on the head before taking the bowl to wash it. Courage smiled up at her then wandered over to the window. It was another beautiful night but the was something different in the air. Last night had felt so peaceful but tonight Courage doubted that anything could feel peaceful to him right now. Not even after a bowl of Happy Plums.  
  
Muriel finished the dishes and put the dishtowel away. As she was leaving the kitchen she looked back at Courage. "Are ye comming to bed Courage? It's getting late."  
  
Courage turned away from the window and followed Muriel upstairs. He didn't really feel much like sleep but he didn't want to be alone either.  
  
He settled on his spot by Muriel and Eustace's feet and somehow managed to drift off into a light sleep. It was about two hours later he was awakened by the now all to familiar sound of a child laughing. It was coming from outside. The laughter was joined by more laughter and voices. Courage gulped. All his fur was standing on end but he knew he had to go look out the window.  
  
He decided the attic might somehow be safer so he climbed the stairs and went to the window leaving the light off so he couldn't be seen as he stared out the window. What he saw literally made him fall to pieces! He pulled himself back together again and looked once more. Yes, they were still there ... several children holding hands forming a circle around something that Courage couldn't quite make out. The circle of children moved in a kind of dance as they chanted something in a strange language that sounded like some sort of nursery rhyme. Courage was frozen in place for a few seconds before he was finally released from the grip of fear. He charged down the attic stairs to the bedroom where Muriel and Eustac had been sleeping only to find that Eustace and Muriel were both wide awake. Eustace was getting ready to go outside. But Muriel was protesting.  
  
"I'm gonna put a stop to all that noise!" Eustace growled. "Who would let their kids run around at this hour to wake people up anyway??!!!!"  
  
Muriel tried to reason with him. "Eustace, remember what I heard at the grocery store? What about that report on the news?! Ye can't go out there! Somethings not right!"  
  
But Eustace wouldn't listen. "It's just a bunch of kids causing trouble Muriel! There ain't nothin' strange about that. They're keeping me from my sleep and I'm gonna put a stop to it!"  
  
Eustace stormed out the bedroom door as the chanting got louder and louder. Courage shivered as he heard the front door open and then slam shut again. Eustace's voice could be heard yelling at the children but Courage couldn't make out what he was saying. Then the chanting stopped. Courage and Muriel anxiously waited to hear Eustace come back into the house but there was only a long silence then the chanting started again. 


	5. A Sleepless Night

Courage and Muriel waited for several minutes as the chanting continued but there was no sign of Eustace. Finally Muriel said to Courage, "I wonder why Eustace isn't yelling at them anymore. I hope nothing has happened to him."  
  
Courage felt his blood run cold. He didn't care much if anything happened to Eustace but he knew that Muriel did. He sighed, knowing what was comming next.  
  
"We have to go see what is going on Courage." Courage shivered as he got up to follow Muriel downstairs to look out the window. What they saw made Courage scream loudly and turn white!  
  
Muriel let out a shocked, "Oh my!!!" and ran for the door.  
  
Courage charged after her and they both ran out onto the porch. The children were still chanting and dancing in a circle. Eustace was standing in the middle of the circle with a blank look on his face as if he was in a trance.  
  
"Eustace!!!" Muriel's scream startled the dancing children. The chanting silenced as all the children stopped dancing to turn and stare at Muriel. Courage nearly fainted. The children didn't really look much like children at all. They were white as sheets and their eyes were nothing but glowing pale blue light. Their clothes were also white and looked like they were from at least a hundred years ago - just like the description the article that the computer had found.  
  
The children stood there frozen in place for a few seconds just staring. Finally one of them whispered something to the others and they're eyes turned red with what looked like anger. Courge huddled close to Muriel ready to defend her if the children should attack them. But instead of attacking, the children floated away like fog. As soon as the children were gone Eustace woke up from his trance like state to find Muriel and Courage staring at him as if they had seen a ghost. (Of course they had seen a ghost...in fact, they had seen several of them ).  
  
"What are you two staring at?!" Eustace looked around. "What am I doing out here?" He looked back at Muriel and Courage, "What in blazes is going on here?!!"  
  
Muriel tried to explain but Eustace said that he didn't remember anything and that they all must have had some sort of nightmare.  
  
As Eustace and Muriel when back to the bedroom, Courage made his way up to to the attic. Several searches on his computer didn't get him anywhere. There were a few results in old newspaper articles but, in each case, it was like the newspaper article the computer had found the night before. Only a few sentences were readable. In some cases, the entire article had actually been removed from the newspaper. Courage began to feel as if something bad had happened and somebody was trying to cover it up. Muriel seemed to know something but he couldn't ask Muriel anything because she wouldn't understand him. Courage began to feel like he was at a dead end until an idea suddenly came to him. The computer had told him last night that he needed to take the pendant to somebody who would understand things like spells and curses and Courage knew just the right person - or rather dog! He waited anxiously for morning. 


	6. Shirley Explains Everything

It took a lot to convince Muriel to let him go outside - especially since he had been too anxious and wasn't able to eat much of his breakfast.  
  
He quickly headed for Shirley's little shop on the outskirts of town. By the time he got to the shop it was a just past noon and Shirley was just leaving with her cart.  
  
"Shirley!" Courage ran hard to catch up with her.  
  
Shirley turned around and saw Courage running down the road. "Whoa .. be careful. You might hurt somebody running that fast."  
  
Courage gasped to catch his breath as he caught up with Shirley.  
  
"What the matter with you Courage?" Shirley's tone of voice sounded as if she was more annoyed than anything else.  
  
Courage finally caught his breath and explained about the necklace and strange events that had been reported in town. Shirley listened wide-eyed as Courage told her what had happened at the farm last night.  
  
"Do you have the necklace with you?"  
  
Courage nodded, "Uh-huh, uh-huh."  
  
"Let's go take a look it." Shirley led Courage into her shop and into a back room. There was a round table in the center of the room with four chairs arranged around it. A crystal ball sat on the table close one of the chairs. Shirley sat in the chair near the crystal ball and Courage picked one of the chairs next to her. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket had handed it to Shirley.  
  
Shirley studied the necklace and reached back to get a book out of the bookcase that stood against the wall behind her. She searched through and matched some of the symbols of the necklace to pictures in the book. Finally, she reached back to get another book and flipped through the pages until she was able to match the verse on the pendant to one she found in the book.  
  
She looked down at the necklace again then got up and walked over to a small desk in the corner of the room. She searched through some papers in the drawer until she pulled out a folder with some newspaper clippings in it. When she turned back toward the table, Courage noticed that she had tears in her eyes.  
  
Shirley stood by the table for a moment staring at the folder before finally sitting down and taking a deep breath. "I know all about the children Courage. It happened a long time ago but I must warn you, it's a sad story. "  
  
Courage looked down at the folder then back up at Shirley who was staring blankly down at the table. After a moment, she looked through the folder and pulled out an old newspaper clipping. She handed it to Courage.  
  
Courage read, "There were several tombs broken into last night at the cemetary. One of the tombs that was broken into was the monument to the children who got lost while on a nature outing with their teacher. The tomb contains what little was found of the teacher and children. There was also a necklace that had been placed in the tomb by the townspeople after several reports of children crying from somewhere in the cemetary. According to various reports, the crying stopped when the necklace, which was supposed to be for protection from evil, was placed inside the tomb. However this necklace appears to have been stolen."  
  
Courage looked back up at Shirley. "This is the necklace that was stolen from the tomb?"  
  
Shirley just nodded.  
  
Courage looked back down at the pendant then back up at Shirley. "Can you tell me the whole story?"  
  
Shirley gazed blankly at the crystal ball and nodded. "It happened over a hundred years ago. I'm not sure exactly when because I heard the story from my mother who had heard it from my grandmother. There used to be a school just a few miles outside of Nowhere. It was a one-room school house and all the grades were taught by one teacher, a man called Mr. Worth. All the children liked Mr. Worth because he was a good teacher who cared about them. He often took his class on nature walks into the mountains several miles north of Nowhere. These trips were usually took one or two days and the parents all gladly gave their children permission to go. The last trip Mr. Worth and his class took was in early spring just one week after what was supposed to be the last snow of the year. The weather was good when they left and he had planned for the class to be gone about three days. Most of the snow had already melted with the warmer weather so the children didn't bring a lot of warm clothing. They weren't prepared for the freak snow-storm that hit late the second day. Worried parents got together a seach party and went up into the mountains to look for them when then didn't return on the fourth day. But the unusually cold weather made the search almost impossible. The remains of Mr. Worth and the children weren't found until late in the spring and, back then they really weren't able to .. well .." Shirley hesitated, "They put all of the children in one large tomb with their teacher."  
  
Shirley stopped for a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes. Courage gazed blankly down at the pendant as he waited for Shirley to continue.  
  
"People started hearing voices from the cemetary. They were the voices of frightened children crying. There was also another voice that could be heard sometimes. The voice of a man trying to comfort the children saying things like, 'I won't let them get you.' People began to think that spirits of the children were trapped in this world for some unknown reason and there was something evil trying to hurt the them. So they called upon an old lady who was rumored to be a witch to cast a spell to protect the children. This old lady was my great grandmother. She made this pendant to protect the spirits of the children and their teacher until it was time for them all go to the next world. The front of the pendant has a picture of the tomb surrounded by symbols of protection. The back is a prayer of protection written in an ancient language - I do not remember which one. About fifty years later, as you read in the article, someone broke into the tomb and stole the necklace. Ever since then the children have been haunting the town. They come out every 10 years frightening people and causing mischief for several weeks before disappearing again. The reason the children are haunting the town and your farm is that they are searching for their necklace. They will haunt the people of this town and, especially anybody who has the necklace until the necklace is returned."  
  
Shirley looked into Courage's eyes, " I would hate to be living at your house right now Courage. From what you told me, those children are very angry!"  
  
"But, how did the necklace get in my yard?" Courage asked.  
  
Shirley thought about it for a second or two. "The person who had it was probably scared to death of the ghosts and decide to get rid of it. They must have burried it in your yard to hide it.  
  
Courage looked down and gulped to swallow the fear in his throat then looked back up at Shirley. "So all we have to do is return the necklace to the tomb, right?"  
  
Shirly looked back towards her crystal ball. "I wish it were that easy, but you see, the cemetary was destroyed during an earthquake over 60 years ago and the tomb is no more. Part of the town of Nowhere is built on what used to be that cemetary so there is no way of even finding out exactly where the tomb was located." Shirley turned her gaze back toward Courage, "There is only one way to return the necklace and that is to give the necklace back to the children .. and you have to be the one to do it."  
  
Courage thought about this for a few moments. "How do I do that?" He knew the answer even before he asked the question.  
  
"You have to wait until the children appear at your farm again - and they will appear. They will continue to appear and wreak havoc on your home until you give the necklace back to them. When they appear you must take the necklace to them."  
  
Courage turned pale white and nearly melted out of his chair at the very thought of going near any of the ghosts. He was about to ask something else when the sound of child's angry shriek startled both of them. Courage grabbed the necklace and they both ran to the door. When they got to the door of Shirley's shop, they realized that it was nearly dark outside. The children would return to the farm soon and one could only guess what they would do.  
  
"Courage, quick, we have to get to your house!!" Shirley was already headed up the road and Courage ran after her grateful that Shirley was going back to the farm with him. 


	7. Face To Face With The Ghosts

By the time Courage and Shirley got to the farmhouse it was nearly 10:00 at night. Both Muriel and Eustace should have been sound asleep by now but, instead they were both on the porch. It only took Courage a minute to discover why Muriel and Eustace were standing outside in their nightclothes at this time of night. The sound of children chanting filled his ears - the same chant he had heard the night before. Courage nearly froze in his tracks but Shirley grabbed his paw and dragged him along behind her has she ran toward the house. The two stopped just a few yards away from the porch and stared as Muriel and Eustace began moving toward a circle of shadowy figures as if in a trance. The circle broke apart and the children, moved toward Muriel and Eustace.  
  
It was the childrens eyes that made Courage literally fall to pieces. Their eyes were bright glowing red embers and they were fixed on the blank faced people who stood before them. Courage quickly reassembled himself and grabbed Shirley's paw. "What do I do, What do I do???!!!" Courage's voice was frantic. Shirley calmly took Courage's paw into her own and said gently, "You must let them know you have the necklace. Walk up to them and show it to them. Don't worry Courage, they won't harm you."  
  
Courage summoned all of his, well, courage and took the necklace out of his pocket. He was shaking so hard that it felt almost as if his fur was going to fall out. Slowly he held the necklace up making sure that the pendant was clearly visible. "Hey!" was the only thing he could manage to get out of his mouth.  
  
The children quickly turned to Courage and they looked as though they might disappear like they did the night before when Muriel startled them. But, instead, they just stared silently at the necklace with glowing red eyes. Suddenly, a voice broke the silence. In the center of circle where the children had been dancing, the figure of a man appeared. "I believe you have something that belongs to us." The man was dressed in tattered clothes and hiking boots. Courage instantly realized that the man must be Mr. Worth - the teacher who had died with the children and now protected them in the afterlife.  
  
"Bring the necklace to me little dog." the man's voice was kind and gentle.  
  
Courage hesitated for a moment before taking an uncertain step toward the man. He looked back at Shirley who nodded in the direction of Mr. Worth's ghost. Courage took a deep breath had walked over to stand in front of the ghost a man who was so tall he seemed like a giant to Courage. Slowly Courage held the necklace out to the ghost.  
  
Mr. Worth smiled. "Please, put the necklace around my neck" he said leaning down so Courage could reach him.  
  
Courage looked back at Shirley. "Because of the symbols on the necklace he can't hold the necklace in his hands." Shirly advised. "Those symbols are danger for spirits that touch them. Put the necklace around his neck so that the side with the prayer of protection is against him."  
  
Courage gulped and nodded. He had never willingly been this close to a ghost before and he was more than a little nervous. Slowly he reached up and slipped the necklace over Mr. Worth's head and around his neck making sure that the side with the writing was facing toward Mr. Worth.  
  
Mr. Worth straightened up and smiled happily. "Come children, leave those people alone. This brave dog has returned our necklace to us!"  
  
Instantly there was a change in the children. Their eyes stopped glowing and they began to take a more human form. They now looked almost like normal children except for their pale skin and clothes that appeard to be from another century. They all smiled happily and began to circle around Courage to meet the dog that had found and returned their necklace. Courage nervously looked around as the children approached him.  
  
"What a cute little dog!" said one little girl as she reached out to pet Courage. At first Courage shrank away from her hand but then he finally let himself relax as the ghostly fingers ran through his fur. Another ghostly had reach out to pat his head and another to scratch behind his ears. Courage had never gotten this much attention in all his life! He smiled happily as the children closed in around him, petting him and scratching his ears. One little girl knelt down to give Courage a hug and Courage hugged her back. Then a boy knelt down and hugged him then another until all the children had hugged him. Courages tail was wagging happily in appreciation of each hug. To his surprise, he was surrounded by ghosts and not afraid of any of them.  
  
Finally, Mr. Worth called to the children, "It's time for us to go now. Say good-bye to the brave little dog." Each of the children petted courage one last time and reluctanly said good- bye. Mr. Worth leaned over and whispered something in one little boys ear and looked over toward Shirley who had been watching the whole thing.  
  
The little boy nodded and ran over to Shirley and whispered something to her. "I think I can do that." Shirley replied, "Wait here for a moment." Shirley went into the house and brought back a piece of paper began writing on it. She handed it to the boy, "See if this is what he has in mind."  
  
The boy ran back to Mr. Worth and handed him the piece of paper. Mr. Worth nodded and said, "This is perfect but it should be written in stone or something else that is more permanent."  
  
Shirley nodded and disappeared into the barn.  
  
While they were waiting for Shirley to return, the children began to play, chasing each other around and tossing a ball that one of the boys had with him. Courage couldn't resist and joined in with the children until Shirley reappeared from the barn and went over to speak with Mr. Worth for a moment.  
  
Mr. Worth nodded and called the children to him whispering something to all of them. After making sure that all of the children were in agreement with him, Mr. Worth called Courage over to him.  
  
"To thank you for returning the necklace to us, we would like to present you with this." He handed Courage a piece of metal with some writing inscribed on it. "If you ever need our help, just say these words and we be there to help you."  
  
Courage smiled unable to hold back a tear of happiness. "Thank you" he said but, of course all Mr. Worth could hear was "aauuu". He looked over at Shirly who translated.  
  
"It is us who thank you Courage. We are forever in your debt" With that, Mr. Worth and the children all began to walk toward the road and slowly disappeared into thin air.  
  
A few seconds later, both Muriel and Eustace awoke from their trance like state. Both were wondering what had happend so Shirley explained everything to them.  
  
Later that night, Courage relaxed on his cot thinking about everything that had happened. He was still to excited to sleep. Finally he decided to go for a walk outside. It was a beautiful, peaceful night and, at least for now, he really wasn't afraid of anything. Maybe he would finally be able to find that bone he had been looking for. 


End file.
